J'aime manger du pain avec des légumes frais.

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Breakdown of J'aime manger du pain avec des légumes frais.

• manger: to eat
• aimer: to like
• le pain: the bread
• avec: with
• du: some
• des: some
• le légume: the vegetable
• frais: fresh

Questions & Answers about J'aime manger du pain avec des légumes frais.

Why is it J’aime instead of Je aime?

In French, je (meaning "I") becomes j’ before a vowel or a silent “h.” Since aime starts with a vowel, we drop the “e” in je and add an apostrophe, resulting in j’aime. This makes the pronunciation smoother.

Why do we say du pain instead of le pain?

Du is the partitive article in French, which is used to refer to an unspecified amount of something (in this case, bread). Using le pain would mean "the bread" in a more general or definite sense, whereas du pain implies “some bread,” focusing on the quantity that isn’t precisely defined.

Why do we say des légumes frais instead of les légumes frais?

Des is the plural indefinite article in French. It indicates “some,” just like du in the singular, but for plural nouns—here, vegetables. If you used les légumes, you’d be talking about specific vegetables or vegetables in general. Since we’re referring to an unspecified number of fresh vegetables, des is the correct choice.

Why does frais come after légumes?

Most French adjectives come after the noun. Frais is one of those adjectives, so you say légumes frais rather than frais légumes. Only certain adjectives (usually short and describing beauty, age, goodness, or size—often remembered as B.A.G.S.) precede the noun. Frais does not belong to these categories, so it follows the noun.